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My guess is pass without a trace uses a flat bonus so that it doesn't counteract disadvantage from heavy armor and provides a solid chance of beating contested Wisdom (Perception) checks. Similarly, the -5 to hit for GWM and SS can be offset with advantage.
As for the original question, use advantage when you want it to combine with proficiency. Use proficiency when you want to provide an...

Wednesday, 30th May, 2018

yeah, having no real PF version is quite unfortunate, especially since I DM the campaign for PF as well. But the 3.5 version can be converted without too much of a hassle as long as your players don't do ridiculous optimization.
Most of the used monsters are in the PFSRD and the monster DB. NPC's HP, attack and defenses need to be adjusted though, especially at higher levels. 3.5 was rather bad in this regard and therefore most NPC enemies are rather weak.
Oh and thanks Tormyr !

Wednesday, 16th May, 2018

My biggest issue with this is that it waters down the effect of higher AC from armour at higher levels. I already see too many dex based characters and this would just compound that problem. Effectively you adding +1 to every characters AC every 4 levels.
Totally agree with Tormyr that hp are a better representation of taking more damage.

Wednesday, 21st March, 2018

Ah, bells at the entrance to the tent makes sense. I'll have to make sure to mention the bells before the players know to fear bells...
Also Tormyr, I've been playing an on-the-fly conversion to 5e. I'd be very curious when you're finished to see how you converted some of the encounters.

...d you imagine a floating city (like Sokovia from Avengers) that crashed into a jungle basin?
https://i.imgur.com/gaNC0z4.jpg
Kuluth-Mar appeared in the Age of Worms adventure path in Dungeon Magazine; it was an ancient city that Kyuss ruled from, where undeath was glorified as the ultimate goal. Though loosely set in the Amedio Jungle in Greyhawk, it was a site unconnected to the rest of the world; like much of the adventure path, it was meant to be adapted to the DM's setting-of-choice. Pretty much the only area detailed was the Ziggurat of Kyuss; the city was just painted in broad strokes with shallow monster factions vying for control. Eric Boyd (a prolific D&D author who co-wrote Serpent Kingdoms among others) wrote in Dungeon #130 supplement that Kuluth-Mar could be placed in Chult, and offered a compelling history for doing so. It's not canon, but the idea struck me enough to include in my Tomb of Annihilation game.
Instead of doing a straight conversion – which Tormyr has already done a fine job over here – I decided to advance the timeline, focus on the city holistically, and incorporate a friend's idea of a "crashed sky city." Adventurers raided Kyuss' ziggurat at the center of the ruined city, causing the cactus/key-shaped spire at the top to crumble. When it fell, it destroyed the obsidian wall around the ziggurat keeping spawn of Kyuss within, but also led to destruction of many monsters/traps in the ziggurat.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_DOGdbcvTBcc/S2KHp28NRzI/AAAAAAAAAzI/tUqSQe0yEck/s400/Spire+of+Long+Shadows.jpg
During the Spellplague (which I'm making more like "Acererak's Cataclysm" to tie it to the adventure without involving lots of FR meta-plot), an earthmote lifted up the entire city of Kuluth-Mar...as if it was Ubtao's hand itself lifting the corrupted place toward the sun...or perhaps Acererak's magic lifting the city up to reach something beneath it? The city already rested in a swampy valley, so this uplift turned the valley in...

Wednesday, 7th March, 2018

Thanks for these conversions Tormyr!
I'm considering adapting the ruined city of Kuluth-Mar (from The Spire of Long Shadows, Dungeon #130) for a Tomb of Annihilation game involving Kyuss, placing it in the jungles of Chult, and assuming that past adventurers mostly cleared it out and killed Ma'kar the spellweaver lich.
Any suggestions on further detailing the ruined city as an adventure site?

Thursday, 4th January, 2018

...e a demigod of some kind. Each PC will need to have credit for accomplishing a task that proves them worthy of the title.
I'm not looking for specifics on how to accomplish the task, rather just big, flavorful ideas that have the potential to be handled in many ways. Each should also be tied to a specific Outer Plane.
Hoping to get at least 20 potential quests to provide. The list so far...
1. Bring and end to Dionysus' 742 year long drunken celebration with the Bacchae in Arborea
2. Return Gan's glade in the Beastlands to it's natural state. Thanks, @Eltab
3. Steal Acereraks' family jewels from his prison in Carceri. Thanks, @ArchfiendBobbie
4. Collect all of the pine cones in the Vindmere Forest of Arborea. Thanks, @Ganymede81
5. Assist Mahlhevik in parting the Silver Sea so that Sytris and Japheth may visit him once more.
6. End the Wearbear curse sweeping through the Serpent Spine in Ysgard. Thanks, @Landon Guss
7. Help Lily and Adoma reach Nirvana. Thanks @Draegn & @Tormyr
8. Get Sys's boulder to balance atop the highest peak of Shurrock and Dothion. Thanks, jrowland
Thanks in advance for the help!

Sunday, 31st December, 2017

7. Convince someone to change their mind on an internet forum. ;)
But I need tasks that the PCs actually have a chance of accomplishing! LOL
Tormyr - I come to the boards to have others do my work for me ;)

Sunday, 10th December, 2017

...e magical effect of the bonus action Dash is another 40 feet as it does not combine with the haste, and the total movement would be 200 feet. This starts to get a bit weird as to where the combination happens in my opinion.
2.b. It can also be considered that the Step of the Wind and haste are not affected by the magical effect combining rules because the give different effects. The spell haste doubles speed and Step of the Wind gives a bonus action Dash. In that case, the bonus action is 80 feet, and the total movement available on that turn is 240 feet. This is the interpretation I follow.
Thank you for answering my questions about haste and dash.
I would also rule 240ft here.
In my opinion 5e tries to be as simple in many regards as possible. In my book just multiplying several times is easy or not allowing the stacking at all is too.
Using the middle ground is also a good but slightly mire complicated way of ruling.
Sent from my GT-I9506 using EN World mobile app
Edit:
Tormyr the section was added by errata.

Monday, 20th November, 2017

...p more damage per round, you simply can't use the same 20 round metric to see how much more damage you're doing. That's bad math. The fighter with the feats doesn't add an extra 100 points of damage (5 extra points for 20 rounds) like what is the logic FrogReaver has claimed. The fighter with the feat will go through those 200 HP in 14 rounds (rounded up). So that's 5 points for 14 rounds, not for 20 rounds. Or 70 extra points, not 100.
It may seem like a minor difference, but if you want your math and scenario to be accurate, you have to factor it in. Bottom line is that the fighter with the feat isn't doing as much extra damage as claimed unless the monster HP is infinite. Which it can't be, because then your rounds of combat per rest value would be infinite as well. There can be an argument made about how extra damage means beating the encounter faster which means good, but that's a different argument, and isn't what is being claimed.
An interesting point but, much as Tormyr did, the DM with the higher damaging fighter may simply up the challenge a bit, thereby maintaining encounter length. In that scenario, GWM/SS et al become less of a damage buff and more of an experience bonus for the party. Granted, some DMs won't like it that, but that's yet another factor to take into account when deciding for yourself whether these are too good or just quite good.
It's the problem with any white room scenario. You have to make certain assumptions, otherwise the complexity spirals out of control.
Party composition could be a factor. The types of monsters your DM likes to use could be a factor. Overkill damage is probably a factor. Even terrain might factor in.
Still, I think you're right to point out that these are over-simplifications. I think white rooms can be useful, but only so long as one keeps in mind that they won't accurately model the complexities of what actually goes on during real play. They're more like estimations of what you might be able to...

I couldn't get to the map via your link. I was going to check what the resolution of the image you are wanting to print. My experience is that typically the images made available from WotC are not high enough resolution to have printed very large.
When Tormyr says you will want 300dpi, that means if you want the print size of 24x36" means the image needs to be atleast 7200x10800 pixels.
I will add that 150dpi will give a nice poster, from a distance. But as mentioned, don't expect to read the text and you will see pixelation and/or blurriness up close.

Wednesday, 26th July, 2017

And the pièce de resistance has to be the gathering of giant leaders with no explanation for their presence (and while the hill giant is absent - though that actually dovetailed neatly with events for me) but still, the ordning is broken and yet giants are still sitting down to tea together (effectively) - why?! No reason... but of course my players ask that obvious question, leaving me to scramble for some plausible answer!
Edit: Tormyr pointed out that this was a misfire on my part - I'd forgotten the brief description given for their presence, though my answer was quite similar (though driven from Serissa's side rather than theirs).

Tuesday, 2nd May, 2017

Thanks for the information hastur_nz! I actually have all the Dungeon (and Dragons) for this so that helps. I did read the "Overview" I think you are referring too and have finished reading Diamond Lake. I'm just starting the Whispering Cairns now. I think if I go adventure path, it's going to be Age of Worms (since Tormyr did such a bang up job on the conversion which saves me time!!). Savage Tide could be one I do over Fantasy Grounds if there is a conversion - lol. I do have a couple of non-local friends who'd like the Demogorgan aspect. If I don't go adventure path, I'll have to think but I may do something that weaves in Orcus (using Necromancer Games "Tomb of Abysthor").
I appreciate the link Tormyr. I'll probably take you up on that offer. The healing potion is a good touch and I think I will do that. My sister who is also playing is one person that has played (though not much in 5E but a lot in previous versions and some OSRIC versions) so hopefully she can 'guide' my niece and nephew. The fun thing is the kids are revved up for this! If you have any pointers that pop into mind for the first couple of installments let me know!

Thanks for the information hastur_nz! I actually have all the Dungeon (and Dragons) for this so that helps. I did read the "Overview" I think you are referring too and have finished reading Diamond Lake. I'm just starting the Whispering Cairns now. I think if I go adventure path, it's going to be Age of Worms (since Tormyr did such a bang up job on the conversion which saves me time!!). Savage Tide could be one I do over Fantasy Grounds if there is a conversion - lol. I do have a couple of non-local friends who'd like the Demogorgan aspect. If I don't go adventure path, I'll have to think but I may do something that weaves in Orcus (using Necromancer Games "Tomb of Abysthor").
I appreciate the link Tormyr. I'll probably take you up on that offer. The healing potion is a good touch and I think I will do that. My sister who is also playing is one person that has played (though not much in 5E but a lot in previous versions and some OSRIC versions) so hopefully she can 'guide' my niece and nephew. The fun thing is the kids are revved up for this! If you have any pointers that pop into mind for the first couple of installments let me know!

Monday, 1st May, 2017

So I guess my one question Tormyr and Bupp, do you recommend this? It'll be a party of 5 (Elf Barb/Halfling Thief/Human Cleric of Pelor/Dragonborn Ranger/Gnome Wizard). There's one experienced player and 2 new players. I'm seeing a lot of mixed reviews (though overwhelmingly the Whispering Cairns adventure by Eric Mona does seem to be well liked)...

Sunday, 30th April, 2017

Thanks Tormyr! That conversion looks pretty much done. Makes my life easier. I'll have to check out your play report Bupp. That said, what can be done to address the flow / continuity issues? I'm still reading about Diamond Lake right now - lol...

Sunday, 5th August, 2018

I go with a concept first and build to the concept. Sometimes the race comes first, other times the class fits first.
Same here, but the concept is not complete until both are decided.
Sorta like figuring out the super power also requires an origin story.

Friday, 3rd August, 2018

I go with a concept first and build to the concept. Sometimes the race comes first, other times the class fits first.
Yeah, I guess this best describes my own approach.
Let's use my 1/2ling sisters for ex:
1st we have Bree Burrfoot. 1/2ling warlock, fey patron, chain pact. About 11 years old.
Bree started as an NPC quest giver when I reworked an encounter in an old module & combined it with part of a DC module involving a pseudo-dragon.
The inn where this encounter took place was run by a 1/2ling. So I just built up the details of his family.
His oldest daughter Rose had gotten herself in trouble and had been abducted. Bree was trying to help her - by recruiting some passing adventurers for a side quest - before Dad found out. She offered them an upfront reward. The catch was that they had to shine down to tiny size, venture through a series of vermin tunnels beneath the inn & retrieve said reward from her pseudo-dragon friend Scales. She'd show the the way.
I made her a l...

Thursday, 12th July, 2018

I think the loss of a point on a successful death save is a bit much, but I generally avoid ability score damage in general. 5e is balanced on damage and hit points, and adjusting a creature's hit points directly affects its ability to survive an adventuring day. The barbarian in your example needs those hit points to tank.
Realistically, it places how much Constitution damage the PCs take directly in the hands of the DM. If the DM loads up on deadly encounters, the party will take Con damage because PCs will go unconscious here and there. Players may slow down how much adventuring they do and retreat when they are less than full hit points, causing a recurrence of the 5-minute workday.
Possibly, but I find that the 5 minute work day is as much a function of having players who shoot their load at every battle or lots of players running character who regain a lot at every short rest like warlocks and monks.
Both of you are right it can change the feel of combat, it makes it more dange...

Monday, 9th July, 2018

It took 16 days for chapter 1. Start looking for it in about 2 weeks. That includes the time for the proof copy to be printed and sent to @Morrus for approval.
EDIT: Ninja'd by @Morrus with a better explanation. Figures. :D
And welcome to the boards, @Benathalis. Have some xp.
Thank you both for the quick response and info.

Thursday, 28th June, 2018

I have found that in most circumstances, a creature's jump distance fits within their remaining movement if they take the Dash action. My house rule to accommodate things like the jump spell:
1. Your jump distance is limited by your total available movement in a turn (with using the Dash action as much as possible). For most PCs this would be 30 + 30 (Dash) = 60 feet.
2. You must land on your next turn, using movement and the Dash action if necessary.
3. You jump ends if you are knocked prone (or incapacited if you needed the Dash action) while in midair.
4. You may exceed your automatic jump distance with a successful Strength (Athletics) check. The DC is the distance of the gap. You may add jumping bonuses, such as those of the Champion and Thief, to the check.
Essential what I do but I also add in a bonus for speed to help out monks. It doesn't make any sense that a fighter in plate mail with 20 Str can just move 10' and then jump 20', naturally out jumping a monk with 10 Str and...

Wednesday, 13th June, 2018

Nice job with Haddin! ;)
You can´t imagine... They hate him so much right now :cool:
OMG: The more questions I have, the more stupid I feel...
Is there any common knowledge about the creation of the Torch?
And thanks a lot to all of you who contributed to this thread so far!

Monday, 4th June, 2018

If they got all 3 opposing offers and still tried to silence the song, then they made their choice.
As for information they might find out in Seaquen:
- Why does teleporting no longer work? (Is it at this moment possible to give any answer to this?)
The timing points to Coaltongue's alleged death, but no one can be sure without divination magic or by visiting castle Korstull.
- Is there any information about the Trillith/ Trilla herself available?
Not really. Trilla was only evacuated under Gate Pass ~60 years Before the Scourge. Few trillith have escaped the dream world since then. With little contact, people did not even know there was something to research as Trilla's evacuation to Gate Pass was only know by a few Taranesti.
- What does one know about the song of forms (they only know that there might be one surviving Seela, Etinify, who might know the song of forms)
Some of the elves in the ghetto at Gate Pass might be refugees from Inennotdar and would be aware of the Song of Fo...

Wednesday, 30th May, 2018

I have not read Savage Tides, but Age of Worms was a lot of fun. I appreciated that it hit almost every major kind of monster (except maybe for goblins). Interesting that those were number 2 and 3 of Paizo's adventure paths IIRC.
I will have to say though that the EN Publishing's adventures, namely those written/coordinated by @RangerWickett (and a host of other great authors) are some of the most interesting adventures I have ever read. Zeitgeist and War of the Burning Sky aimed to be unique, and I think they both hit that target very well, making memorable adventures.
Savage Tide hit a lot a monster groups also, but had some unique ones. Essentially you sail to Isle of Dread and eventually end up forming an alliance with Orcus and Iggwilv to fight Demogorgon. What could go wrong?

My plan, now that I am not dealing with a big, international move and only have to release 1 book at a time, is to release a chapter every month or two.
How many chapters are there, Tormyr?
Or rather, scratch that - when do you approximate being finished? In very general terms, barring the unforseen blah blah...
Will the complete 5E campaign be ready in... 3 months? 6? A year? More?
Thanks for any insight. I won't consider your answer a binding promise; just curious to get some inkling...

Tuesday, 29th May, 2018

You're welcome! :) You will probably want to scan through this thread, as several people have caught errors or omissions that I have not yet had time to go back and fix. (I figured out the format I was going to use in chapter 6 and went back and very quickly rewrote 1-5, so they are a little bit more rough.)That's good to know! I had only sparsely read the thread … I hadn't planned on reading the whole thing.
But, now I have something to do this morning with my coffee!!
Thanks, again!

Okay, then if everything goes according to plan, we should catch up to you by the end of summer at the latest. In the meantime, I hope you can make use of the campaign guide and player's guide!
Great news, Tormyr!
Just got my copy of the first adventure and the two guides yesterday and after skimming through it on my way to work I must say that what I saw so far looks really good!
Looking forward to the point where your work catches up with my shedule! :)

Saturday, 26th May, 2018

Where are you right now?
My plan, now that I am not dealing with a big, international move and only have to release 1 book at a time, is to release a chapter every month or two. I am also planning on releasing the bonus adventures. So GMs could use those to run a "B" team with the backup characters periodically, expanding the scope of what is going on past the primary PCs.
Excellent news! I'm looking forward to running it for my group at work once we finish with Rise of Tiamat.

Friday, 25th May, 2018

Where are you right now?
My plan, now that I am not dealing with a big, international move and only have to release 1 book at a time, is to release a chapter every month or two. I am also planning on releasing the bonus adventures. So GMs could use those to run a "B" team with the backup characters periodically, expanding the scope of what is going on past the primary PCs.
I will end chapter 2 and start chapter 3 next weekend. Next sessions will be end of June and then after the summer break end of September.
Really looking forward to your 5e conversion!

Tuesday, 1st May, 2018

Yes, MiBG could be a small adventure in a larger campaign, and you can pick and choose or alter pieces as you like. I know one DM used a cult of Bhaal to influence the actions of the 3 power brokers in the game through rituals.
MiBG is meant to be a generation after the events in the video game. Abdel Adrian (the canon protagonist of the video game) is much longer-lived than other humans because he is a Bhaalspawn. If you played the long game, you could do the tabletop version of the video game first, then start a new campaign where you wrapped up with the events of MiBG.
The Baldur's Gate video game would need some rewriting of the key conceit. In the video game, you are one of the 20 bhaalspawn. I do not think it would really work to have a bunch of people in the party be bhaalspawn, and if they are just Abdel Adrian's escorts, that takes the spotlight and decision making off the party. You may want to consider eliminating the bhaalspawn and turning Sarevok into an avatar of Bhaal or some...

I just finished running Murder in Baldur's Gate with my Roll20 group, and we had a good time. MiBG marked a major shift in the Wednesday night Encounters format. Not only were creature stats and rules for the D&D Next playtest included, but the story was presented in a much more sandbox format with significant events rather than the more linear encounters, rest, milestone format of the 4e format. It required a mental shift for both DM and players. Marking the transition from 4e to (eventually) 5e, it was the first of the Sundering adventures which rewrote some aspects of the world of the Forgotten Realms.
Pros:
* Excellent gazetteer for Baldur's Gate. It comes with descriptions of significant people, buildings, organizations, and the flow of people through a day in the life of the city.
* Good, chaotic setup battle.
* One of the few political, role-play heavy adventures.
* Presents difficult choices with moral consequences.
Cons:
* Motivation for the PCs is hard to come by. The s...

Monday, 23rd April, 2018

@Lylandra is running the 3.5 (or 4e?) version, is over halfway through, provides exceptional session writeups, and is reviewing the 5e product before it goes to publication. http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?493652-Lylandra-s-War-of-the-Burning-Sky-continued
thanks!
and actually, it is the 3.5 version converted to Pathfinder and spiced up with 4e and homebrew story elements ;)
And while converting is quite easy at lower levels, high level PF is a hot mess, so I'd been more than grateful for a proper conversion. Which is why I'm really looking forward to seeing the 5e project come to life!

Wednesday, 21st March, 2018

The 5e conversion is great, but it is well behind you in how much it has converted, and you will probably outpace it. PF for you! Although maybe your GM will want to try PF2 when it comes out?Thank you for the reply. The campaign is currently on hold (the GMs alternate 6 months on, 6 off), but from what you are saying that won't matter.

Tuesday, 20th March, 2018

What, you don't remember every single detail? ;)
Seriously though, War of the Burning Sky and Zeitgeist are an amazing achievement. As I am working on the 5e conversion of WotBS, I am constantly pleased by the potential I see for great stories and memories to be built around the table. My selfish wish is that WotC would pick you up to write adventure paths.
That's not *that* selfish.

Thursday, 15th March, 2018

We had a great time with the prison break. The party had no equipment, and it was especially fun to watch the wizard scrounging for spell components. A cobweb for web. A dropped copper piece for detect thoughts. The lack of spell components, weapons, and armor made the group much more creative than usual.
And doing it all with a timer of a Volcano going off. That also convinced me of the value of grapple, since if you have no weapons its just better.

Tormyr's Downloads

Filename

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Zeitgeist: The Added Files
These are other files that can help you when running Zeitgeist. They are created using EN Publishing art assets and have been posted here with permission from Ryan Nock (@rangerwickett) for personal use only.

Bonds of Forced Faith.
- Mountain Ascent...

183

+1

2

Sunday, 9th July, 2017, 07:24 PM

Sunday, 9th July, 2017, 07:24 PM

Alternate Falling Damage
I wanted to make a falling damage and speed system that was (very) loosely based on falling speed and terminal velocity. This is something that mechanically stops monks and barbarians from being able to fall arbitrarily long distances with little to ...

247

+1

1

Thursday, 25th May, 2017, 11:19 PM

Thursday, 25th May, 2017, 11:19 PM

Age of Worms Adventure Path
This is a conversion of the Age of Worms adventure path from 3.5 to 5e. You will need a copy of the adventure (http://paizo.com/dungeon/products/issues/ageOfWorms), adventure supplement (http://paizo.com/dungeon/resources/downloads), Player's Handbo...

17387

+6

13

Sunday, 24th May, 2015, 07:45 AM

Friday, 2nd June, 2017, 05:40 AM

Monster CR Calculator
This excel spreadsheet implements the monster creation and CR calculation guidelines from pages 274-281 of the Dungeon Master's Guide. It includes the steps listed from those pages that effect CR. Fill out the yellow spaces in the spreadsheet as app...

3586

+3

1

Monday, 5th January, 2015, 01:00 AM

Friday, 23rd September, 2016, 05:16 AM

Legacy of the Crystal Shard
This document converts Legacy of the Crystal Shard from D&D Next to 5e. You will need a copy of the adventure (http://smile.amazon.com/Legacy-Crystal-Shard-Sundering-Adventure/dp/0786964642/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420257337&sr=8-1&keywords=legacy+o...

1555

+2

1

Saturday, 3rd January, 2015, 05:20 AM

Saturday, 3rd January, 2015, 05:20 AM

Encounter Builder with Smooth Scaling
This encounter builder provides a smooth scaling of the encounter building multiplier when increasing numbers of monsters or player characters. Just type the level and number of player characters at each level and the CR of monsters and the number a...

742

+5

1

Wednesday, 31st December, 2014, 10:51 PM

Wednesday, 31st December, 2014, 10:51 PM

Spell Card Generator
If you are like me, you like to have all of the information for a creature when you are running a game. One of the difficulties in 5e is that spells are included in creature stat blocks by reference. All you get is a spell name. For a while, I used o...